The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) this week announced plans to dredge the Sandy Hook Channel and place the dredged sand in the Sea Bright Offshore Borrow Area (SBOBA).
The Sandy Hook Channel was last dredged in 2015. The dredged material will be used to replenish the Sea Bright Offshore Borrow Area, which was hit hard during superstorm Sandy.
The news of the project was well received by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-Monmouth, Middlesex).
“I applaud the Army Corps for moving forward with the dredging of the Sandy Hook Channel,” said Pallone. “This plan will help ensure safe navigation, benefit our coastal communities, and positively impact marine life by allowing us to reuse this dredged sand at a later date, instead of having to disrupt natural, underwater sand lumps. I also want to thank Clean Ocean Action for their advocacy in the moving this project forward. ”
The proposed maintenance dredging would involve the removal of approximately 350,000 cubic yards of gravel and sand to be placed at the SBOBA, which is located approximately one nautical mile east of Sandy Hook and has been used as a material source for beach nourishment since 1994.
Clean Ocean Action has been an advocate for placing clean, dredged material from the channel in the SBOBA, since it will help alleviate the need to use natural sand formations as supplies of sand in the future.
There will be a public comment period on the proposal lasting until March 14.